6 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your CV

If you haven’t received any phone calls relating to your CV, then perhaps you need to review your CV and make sure you haven’t fallen prey to the 5 most common CV mistakes. In most cases employers have so many applications for jobs that they can be very picky about which CVs are selected for interview. Don’t let a foolish error cause you to miss out on an interview, and check your CV or profile against this list.

1. Spell check.

Spell check again, and then again. It’s so easy to make a typo or spelling error, so thoroughly check your CV doesn’t contain any before you send it off. Make sure that any company or college names haven’t been automatically corrected by the computer, and that you haven’t accidentally written ‘for’ instead of ‘or’. You can’t rely on the spellcheck feature of your word processor, so if you’re not confident then ask a friend to check as well. And while you’re checking these, make sure that the addressee’s name and address is accurate.

2. Tailored CV…

sent to wrong company. If you’re sending out lots of CVs you should be modifying each CV to suit every job vacancy and job specification. It’s very easy to lose track of which CV is intended for which vacancy. Keep a clearly labelled copy of the CV that you send out so that you are fully equipped should a telephone call come regarding your application.

3. Sending the correct CV

If you’re sending a CV by email then make sure you attach the document to the email! We’ve all done it, whisked off an email and then realised to our horror that the attachment you have spent hours working on to ensure it looks professional and increase your profile, hasn’t actually been distributed to the recipients. Make sure the correct CV, ideally with a file name including your own name to avoid confusion, is attached to the email you are sending to the recruiter.

4. Don’t lie…

Lying or manipulating the truth is a no-go. Just don’t do it. In the long run it doesn’t do you any favours, adding the fear of being found out to the list of stressful situations involved in job hunting. Most employers seek references and evidence of qualifications, so before long the truth will come out, but not after possibly wasting yours and the recruiters time.

5. Personal Statements or Objectives

If you’re including Personal Statements or Objectives then make sure they too relate specifically to the job which you are applying for. Imagine that with the 10 seconds of scan reading that the recruiter is likely to do, they choose to only read your objectives – would this be sufficient to make the reader think you are capable or committed enough to fulfill the job role? If the answer is ‘no’ then review your statement to make it count. If you still can’t effectively indicate you are the right candidate for the job within this section, then consider omitting the section altogether. This will leave the recruiter to read the relevant qualifications and career history with their 10 second scan.